Saturday, 26 April 2014

Can this practice of councillors and candidates offering some of their own pay or expenses to community groups please stop, the job of a councillor is direct (strategically if not executively) the entire spending of the council, not just a small collection of the money, if you don't take your expenses then don't take them, though I have no problem with councillors using their expenses allowance aslong as its used well.

The job of a councillor is not try to impress various community groups by offering them some of your money (or potentially your money).

If you think councillors are paid too much then campaign and work in the council to reduce the payments for all councillors.

There are candidates making these promises but also councillors have diverted funds from expenses to the community, councillors can vote such a measure through at budget time but this is still problematic, particularily if the money has to be requested through members, even if it is to be sought via council staff, it may still be seen as the councillor's funds.

This is particularily a problem around elections, what were these new and incumbent candidates promising people (involved in community groups) on the door step in relation to giving away their money as inducement to vote for them.

A candidate promoting himself for election is saying he will give 20% of his salary, if elected to community groups, I don't know what personal private charitable donations have got to do with the political policy management of a local authority.

"give", "induce" and "procure" include agreeing or promising or attempting to give, induce or procure, as the case may be, and whether directly or indirectly;

"valuable consideration" includes the giving, lending or agreeing to give or lend, or the offer or promise to procure or to attempt to procure, any money, money's worth or valuable security or any valuable consideration or any office, place or employment to or for any person;

So it talks of specific voter but some candidates made the inducement to everyone and anyone on the radio in newspapers and in their leaflets.

The councillors are required to submit a Declaration of Ethics, ie a declaration of interests I asked my Local council when the new councillors will be ready, they will be ready soon but the my local authority has never published them online they available at the LA HQ you can see Declarations of ethics from Dublin City Council

3.6 ... The public perception of the way a councillor is seen to deal with such matters is important for the maintenance of trust in local government.

3.7 ... The test to be applied by a councillor is not just what s/he might think - but rather whether a member of the public knowing the facts of the situation would reasonably think that the interest concerned might influence the person in the performance of his or her functions. If so, disclosure should
follow and a councillor should consider whether in the circumstances s/he should withdraw from consideration of the matter. In this context it is important to ensure that as well as the avoidance of actual impropriety, occasions for suspicion and appearance of improper conduct are also avoided in case of private or personal interests.

These quotes are in reference to disclosure of interests but I think it shows that the rule that its not just corruption but the perception of corruption that must be avoided applies for councillors generally.

Unilateral versus voted

There is a difference between unilateral promise to to give money to community groups and a voted diversions of pay or expensed at budget time. Most of those promising reductions intend to get it passed at budget time but they cannot guarantee that that will happen at election time.

If a councillor doesn't need the pay or expenses then it should simply be subsumed into the general budget and not diverted to their pet projects in their area, it shouldn't be used as auction politics at election time.

This issue is live soon the councillors will vote at budget meetings to either divert expenses to something that were never meant for or use the council chamber to advertise their private salary donations to groups that they had promised during the campaign and soon it will be too late to do anything about again for another year or another five years. Once a councillor gets his payments it is his own private money and thus these will be private charitable donations he should not be allowed to use those to influence the electoral process, nor should expenses designated for X be used for Y and also used in electoral promotional material to influence the election and we've seen recently that just because its a charity doesn't mean it shouldn't be scrutinised or that you can turn a blind eye to it.
A recent attempt at Limerick Council explains the situation. Limerick councillors can’t transfer unused expenses

Cllr Murray’s motion read: “That Council policy is adjusted to allow Councillors move any unspent expenses, including those available for attendence at conferences, to their Members Development Fund in order to directly support the local community.”

Cllr McGarvey’s read: “Can my money allocation for conferences be transferred to my Development Fund to assist community organisations.”
Both Cllrs received the same response to their questions in which they were told that it was not possbile under the Local Government Act 2001, Section 142 (5).

The response said: “The Council may decide at budget time to reduce the provision for Members’ expenses, including conferences, and increase the provision for the Members Development Fund; however, there is no basis for individual members assigning part of their individual allowance for attendance at conferences to other purposes.”

Although Councillor Padraig McEvoy of Kildare has seemed to have managed to do this, diverting expenses to local projects nominated by him listed here and noted in the register of payments. I have not found where in the budget or ordinary meetings he got this voted through although it seems the council have agreed to facilitate it.

Fingal

Attempt made to reduce expenses allowance from the Mayorm Deputy and SPC chairs and divert to sporting programmes in 2010, it was withdrawn.

In the course of a general discussion on the Annual Budget, the following motion in the name of Councillor Eoghan O’Brien, was proposed by Councillor Eoghan O’Brien, seconded by Councillor Darragh Butler:

'Motion Division F.

Add €48,950 to F04 to increase funding for Sporting Programmes to €114.450 from €65,500. This money to be taken from H0903, (reducing SPC Allowances from 30,000 to 0,) and H0902 (reducing Mayors taxable allowance from 22,100 to 11,050 and Deputy Mayors taxable allowance from 7,900 to 0.)'

In the course of a prolonged discussion on this item, the Mayor stated that he viewed this motion as a personal attack on himself and highlighted the fact that the Mayor of Fingal was in fact paid less than that of Galway, Cork or South Dublin. Mr. Peter Caulfield, Head of Corporate Affairs clarified that the payment to the Chairs of SPC’s was in fact a Statutory Payment and accordingly could not be altered. Several Members then spoke against the motion and urged Councillor O’Brien to withdraw the motion. Councillor O’Brien, in response, stated that the motion was in no way intended as a personal attack, but in light of the sentiments expressed during the discussion he agreed that the motion be withdrawn.
It was noted that the issue of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s allowance could be further discussed at a future Organisation and Procedure Committee Meeting should the Members so wish.

Redirection of expenses

What is the standard required to get the money compared to other funding grant schemes?

http://www.sdublincoco.ie/index.aspx?pageid=939&pid=28354 list of awardeees, have they funding elsehwere ? could they have?
http://www.intallaght.ie/mayors-fund/
http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/newsletter-from-dermot-looney-independent-terenure-templeogue-2014-local-elections/ photographs of fund recipients used for electoral purposes

wondering where the Ward Fund cames from, it may have been councillors were offering their expenses allocations to community groups so often that it became a thing in itself and now each councillor gets a patronage payment.

heres an example of of the pay outs to community groups Cllr. Kieran McCarthy » Ward Funds 2014 but why does the council give councillors extra money that the community groups have to go begging for from the councillors of each ward.

Is there such a fund at my local council or will there be in the next elected council? Are there other sources of funding for community groups?

Although there has been a reluctant increase in transparency in recent years it still insufficient, it will still be perceived political patronage fund even if administered by the council, banning this practice is the only option.

TI Ireland strongly supports SIPOC’s call, in the wake of the Mayo County Council investigation, for a review of the use of discretionary funds by local authority members by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on a national basis to ensure that scarce public resources are not abused in future.

The Community, Culture and Sports Division provide funding under a number of headings to community, arts and sports groups. The funding involved, approx.
€250.000 in 2014, is raised as part of the Fingal Budgetary process and is greatly appreciated by the groups benefiting (approx.. 180 groups in 2013)